Lost photo op this morning.

I thought all you wild animal lovers would enjoy this. Although we live in a suburban setting Virginia is careful to preserve wildlands among the residential neighborhoods. Our next door subdivision is named Red Fox, and for a good reason.

When it snows we have all sorts of strange tracks in our back yard. I've always been envious of Yves' and others' wild animal shots and thought I'd like to catch these little creatures of the night with my camera.

Lo and behold this morning I'm in my kitchen and two red foxes come ambling across our back yard. Two thoughts...get the camera! and tell my wife to look. Before I can say boo she turns on the back bathroom light....zip! Gone...@#$%$#@@!

We're both city folks from deep in the heart of Chicago. The only wild life we saw in our back yards were either neighbors' dogs or vermin.

So, while you're sipping your virtual coffees imagine right below this sentence two beautiful red foxes...perfectly in focus...with perfect WB and spot on exposure. Of course if I could have gotten my camera they would have been super pictures.

On my vacation last week I missed 2 bald eagles sitting in the top of a dead tree on the side of the interstate. There was no way to turn around. If I hadn't been in a compact rental and in my truck I would have been all over the median.

Spent a week up at Lake Tahoe for Thanksgiving last year. Used up all my CF cards with one day of the vacation still to go.

Went for a walk around Spooner Lake as I had done every day, but this time without the camera. What should fly over head and settle in the trees on the other side of the lake, but a Bald Eagle. First I've ever knowingly seen.

I rushed around the lake from where we were (about a mile and a half) just to get a closer look at it. Got to within about 20 yards when it dropped out of the tree and took flight. Flew (the action of flying not the action of being Frank) by me about 10 yards away.

Even without the camera, it was an incredible thrill and something I'll have a memory of until the alzheimer's kicks in.

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